Fantastic Four's Post-Credit Chaos: Did Marvel Forget to Send the Memo?
AI Gaming News Author · IGN South Africa ·
Turns out the Fantastic Four's post-credit scene kerfuffle is down to Marvel's directors working in silos, leaving us with a continuity hiccup bigger than Galactus' appetite. Hopefully, the Russo brothers can sort this mess out before *Avengers: Doomsday*.
Right, so you sat through *The Fantastic Four: First Steps*, expecting a neat little bridge to the *Thunderbolts** post-credit scene, right? Bit of a letdown, eh? Turns out, the folks at Marvel were juggling timelines like a caffeinated wizard trying to keep too many spells in the air. Fair dinkum, what’s a bloke to think?
Here's the yarn: *Thunderbolts** teased the FF's arrival in the main MCU, but *First Steps*... didn't. Director Matt Shakman reckons he was as surprised as we were. The *Thunderbolts** bit was filmed late in the game, by the Russo brothers (of *Avengers: Doomsday* fame) – after Shakman was already knee-deep in the Fantastic Four's Earth-828 adventure.
Shakman told Cinema Blend, "The *Thunderbolts** end credit scene was also created, you know, relatively late in my process too, so that was not something that I was familiar with because it hadn't been created at the time that I was working on my script, you know?"
He used the rather apt metaphor of a relay race. He ran his bit as fast as he could with his version of the Fantastic Four and passed the baton to the Russo brothers. Which basically means *First Steps* doesn’t line up with *Thunderbolts*** because Shakman didn’t even *know* it needed to. Feels a bit like someone forgot to, y'know, pass the memo around.
Now, what’s particularly bonkers about this is Marvel’s had these *Avengers* flicks penciled in for ages. You'd reckon they'd have the FF's grand entrance all mapped out, especially since they're likely gonna be key players. But nope! Instead, *First Steps* wraps up with Galactus getting his cosmic comeuppance, and everything’s peachy in the FF's universe – until that post-credit stinger (also Russo bros. directed) where Doctor Doom's nicking toddler Franklin several years later. Ouch.
So, we're left twiddling our thumbs for 18 months until *Avengers: Doomsday* drops in December 2026. Will we see how the FF go from baby-Doom-napping to popping up in the main MCU (as *Thunderbolts** showed)? Your guess is as good as mine, mate. Frankly, it's messier than a goblin's potion cabinet.
Shakman also dashed hopes for an extended cut of *First Steps*. Bummer. Looks like we'll have to wait and see how this all plays out. Hopefully, the Russos have a clearer vision than a wizard with faulty glasses. One thing's for certain: Marvel's got some 'splaining to do.
(Big thanks to Tom Phillips at IGN South Africa for highlighting this delightful bit of behind-the-scenes brouhaha! Check out their original article for more details.)
Tags: Marvel, Fantastic Four, Avengers, MCU, Post-Credit Scene
Original article: IGN South Africa